2004 GT Questions

[00grnsixer]

Hey all,

I have a new 2004 GT sitting in my garage today and I have a couple of questions before I finalize the paperwork.

1. Should I break in the engine gently or does it matter? I've been told by some that Ford does the "break in" and others say you should drive it very gently for the first 500 to 1000 so the valves can seat properly.

2. Shifter, just like my 00 V6 is extremely "notchy". I have the traditional "clunk" when exiting 2nd gear, sometimes when going into 2nd gear as well. Is there a reasonable way to resolve this? Is it the tranny itself, or just the shifter? I was thinking if it was the shifter I could replace it with a store bought and maybe resolve the problem.

Anyone else find reverse hard to find in their newer GT's?

 

[jorge]

the clunk going into 2nd is there on my 03, i drove mine gently for 1500 miles before i found out that people say around 500 should do it. but i didnt mind, i woul dget used to the car for at least 1500 miles before u try anything extra i would also (if u can) try to get the oil changed right after 500 to get any metal flakes/shavings out the engine fast! dunno if ford allready does that but i did just in case. dunno.. i would say, be paranoid of evertyhing and try to get any problems or conserns done with through ford... they will try to help you, even if it is because they scared u'll go to ford with complaint about thier shop

 

[XStanger]

clunk is pretty normal and a shifter will not eliminate it. I drove mine at all different rpm's for the first 500, and then hammered down once and a while.

I always go into 1st or 3rd before going into reverse.

 

[GetImpact]

IMO - Do not take it too easy on your performance car.

One camp believes that you should work the car pretty hard when it's young to get everything seated in well so you'll get the best performance out of it later.

The other camp says to baby it so it can live a longer life.

Well, I don't believe a gentle breakin does a damned thing for you except make your car SLOW later on. The main reason being that you won't seat the rings as well as you could for good compression. Another is that the computer learns your demands.

And seating the valves? WTF?

Look... the truth is, if you are gonna beat hard on your Mustang AFTER the break-in then you are no less likely to break something when you had babied it before. Limits are limits, you know. For instance, you aren't gonna make your rods any stronger driving it like a granny the first few K miles.

Most car engines are manufactured with damned good tolerences already, and they come ready to run at the dealership. Best thing is to run it through paces with varied driving (hard, medium and soft demands) all the time. It's what it was designed for all along.

If you were planning to poosyfoot (stupid language filter) a Mustang so that it lives a boring life to a ripe old age, then you should have just got a V6... because, obviously, your main goal is not to have fun with it but to drive what looks (but you won't let it act) like a Mustang.

Whatever you break going past the limits, you can always replace with BETTER parts after the warranty is up and make it actually STRONGER.

Changing the oil and filter early is not a bad idea... but "metal flakes"?... I call on that. This is what the filter medium is for... to catch that stuff. I changed my oil to Mobil Drive Clean and installed K&N Oil Filter at 3K, which should be perfectly fine. I'll go to Mobile Synthetic at 6K. Changing it at only 500 miles is being anal, IMO, but to each his own.

Finally, mine got worked in real good (but not severely beaten) in the first week. Since then it has been no disappointment to drive and has only been getting faster... I break traction HARD in 1st gear from a roll with just a good throttle blip. Busting loose 2nd is cake. No clutch dumps needed... EVER. The stock exhaust is getting nice and throaty too. Good stuff.

 

[03redfiregt]

Everybody has ther own opinion about this stuff. The nothcy transmision is the nature of the beast. Mine and everybody else with the 3650 is like that.

As far as the break in thing goes , you could argue that one till your blue in the face too, but i took it very easy with mine for the first 1500 miles or so . Probavly a little more. I don't drive it all that hard anyway. And i also changed my oil at 500 miles. Again the get rid of any metal particals that may be loose in the oil from the engine mating to itself. THen 2500 miles on motorcraft 5/20. then i went to mobile one. But once again this is only my opinion and i am admidetly very anal . And i also plan on keeping my car a long , long time so i was'nt going to fool around. Good like with the car man. I love mine.

 

[CottonBurnerz]

I hammered mine up to 135 before it even got to 800 miles... then changed oil at 1000.. no metal or anything.. It's up to you I guess..

 

[DerekStangGT]

WHAT THE CRAP IS THIS?? THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS BS I HAVE EVER READ!!!

please allow me to correct this person:

IMO - Do not take it too easy on your performance car.

One camp believes that you should work the car pretty hard when it's young to get everything seated in well so you'll get the best performance out of it later.

The other camp says to baby it so it can live a longer life.

Well, I don't believe a gentle breakin does a damned thing for you except make your car SLOW later on. The main reason being that you won't seat the rings as well as you could for good compression.

how will his car be slower later on? it has the same engine, the same hp, the same compression. the rings are already in their place and dont need to be set after the car leaves the assembly line.

Another is that the computer learns your demands

the computer is already tuned from the factory and is set to the stock setting, it isnt magically programed while you are driving

Look... the truth is, if you are gonna beat hard on your Mustang AFTER the break-in then you are no less likely to break something when you had babied it before. Limits are limits, you know. For instance, you aren't gonna make your rods any stronger driving it like a granny the first few K miles

correct, your rods arent strenthened ever. however, the reason a brand new car is supposed to be babied is because metal is rubbing metal in the engine. the moving parts have not yet smoothed out and are rubbing each other in an akward position. hence when your oil is changed at 1000 miles, there ARE metal shavings in the oil. this is from the metal parts grinding together, they get smoother the more you drive it.

Most car engines are manufactured with damned good tolerences already, and they come ready to run at the dealership. Best thing is to run it through paces with varied driving (hard, medium and soft demands) all the time. It's what it was designed for all along

this is correct though. new engines nowadays are able to tolerate stress better than in the past

If you were planning to poosyfoot (stupid language filter) a Mustang so that it lives a boring life to a ripe old age, then you should have just got a V6... because, obviously, your main goal is not to have fun with it but to drive what looks (but you won't let it act) like a Mustang

Whatever you break going past the limits, you can always replace with BETTER parts after the warranty is up and make it actually STRONGER

yes, but while the warranty is in place for the three years, why go through the trouble of purposly driving hard on the break in just so the warranty can fix it?

Changing the oil and filter early is not a bad idea...

agreed

but "metal flakes"?... I call on that. This is what the filter medium is for... to catch that stuff. I changed my oil to Mobil Drive Clean and installed K&N Oil Filter at 3K, which should be perfectly fine. I'll go to Mobile Synthetic at 6K. Changing it at only 500 miles is being anal, IMO, but to each his own

there actually are metal "flakes" in the oil when it is changed for the first time. and the fuel filter you talk about cleans the oil BEFORE it goes into the engine. thats when the oil picks up the shavings.

Finally, mine got worked in real good (but not severely beaten) in the first week. Since then it has been no disappointment to drive and has only been getting faster... I break traction HARD in 1st gear from a roll with just a good throttle blip. Busting loose 2nd is cake. No clutch dumps needed... EVER. The stock exhaust is getting nice and throaty too. Good stuff.

yes, i really believe that your stang is constantly getting faster, especially since you broke it in hard

also, dont think you are hot stuff cuz you break loose in 1st and 2nd. i babied my car on the break in, changed the oil at 1k miles, and 2800 ever since, and i could break loosed 1st and 2nd before i got my gears. now third chirps too, not even to mention 2nd or the notorious 4.10 1st.

back on topic, the TRUTH is, break in the car gently, change the oil at ~1,000 miles, and then go easy another 500 miles. ask your mechanic to show you the oil after you change it, then you can see the shavings. or you can ask any mechanic if there is more engine wear in the first 1,000 miles than in the following 3,000 miles. you will not have to worry about breaking anything this way, and you can be sure your engine will run strong well into 150,000 miles, if you choose to keep it that long. dont listen to these people who say your car will be slower if you go easy, thats

btw getimpact, you say your car has given you zero problems? i was wondering how many miles you had on your car so far? im guessing less than 20k

 

[GetImpact]

I know what I wrote here seems counterintuitive, but it really is true DerekStangGT.

Your rings do set according to how you run the motor when it is young. Google it even... read all you can from experienced experts. Some good brisk and mixed driving is very good for a young factory motor (I never said to bounce off the rev limiter like a madman though), and you actually NEED a little wear during this time to assure that the parts mate together for best performance.

This is one reason SVT recommends that you DO NOT USE synthetics earlier than 5K or 6K miles. Ask them! You *need* some early wear, and you need to exercise the motor vigorously to have things seat themselves for a better seal. Hell, if you used synthetics, you could extend out your "break in" for much longer and make it even gentler couldn't you?... but that isn't recommended by anyone who knows anything... WHY IS THAT?

Do you even realize that metal-on-metal contact is minimal in a motor that has proper lube levels and brought up to operating temps? Do you have any idea the distance of travel the rings undergo over the cylinder surfaces during the life of an engine? IT IS A LOT!! (Each turn of the crank = one pass and back, stroke length x 2... multiply that times RPMs and then figure the average RPMs & overall runtime of your motor)

The oil you put in the engine has a surface adhesion to metals (a film) which lets the those pieces glide across each other virtually untouched. Early in the life of an engine, the ring-to-cylinder-wall shaping is not exactly perfect. There is a good bit of gap in there which allows some blowby and a less than optimal cylinder compression. By loading the motor (variously and at times, vigorously) you cause the rings to (for lack of a better term) errode themselves a tad until they conform to each other.

If you baby an engine too much when young, the rings will only shape themselves into the cylinder so much and then take a set (has to do with modern cylinder honing methods and the short duration of metal-to-metal friction that affords)... then you'll have a less than perfect seal at some points.

Remember... during the VAST MAJORITY of your engine's operations there is little to no wear on the metal surfaces... the oil has them gliding past.

After some initial wear during a more vigorous break-in, the engine INCREASES its work output.

The REAL MYTH is all about the slow and gentle method. That stopped being at all necessary in most factory engines DECADES AGO. Factory engines today are VASTLY less sensitive to early jaunts into the higher revs... to the point of being NO PROBLEM.

All you really need to do to protect your young factory motor is to let it warm up good before a good romp so the oil can adequately coat the parts... then "break it in" by driving it the way it was designed to be driven.

 

[daver01]

what color is she? btw, it says you want a home-made ram air? why would u want that? just curious. enjoy it.

 

[WRXracer]

yeah

my first 1000 miles I drove like the way I do now.. pedel to the floor..

 

[FallenPhoenix]

I know what I wrote here seems counterintuitive, but it really is true DerekStangGT.

Your rings do set according to how you run the motor when it is young. Google it even... read all you can from experienced experts. Some good brisk and mixed driving is very good for a young factory motor (I never said to bounce off the rev limiter like a madman though), and you actually NEED a little wear during this time to assure that the parts mate together for best performance.

This is one reason SVT recommends that you DO NOT USE synthetics earlier than 5K or 6K miles. Ask them! You *need* some early wear, and you need to exercise the motor vigorously to have things seat themselves for a better seal. Hell, if you used synthetics, you could extend out your "break in" for much longer and make it even gentler couldn't you?... but that isn't recommended by anyone who knows anything... WHY IS THAT?

Do you even realize that metal-on-metal contact is minimal in a motor that has proper lube levels and brought up to operating temps? Do you have any idea the distance of travel the rings undergo over the cylinder surfaces during the life of an engine? IT IS A LOT!! (Each turn of the crank = one pass and back, stroke length x 2... multiply that times RPMs and then figure the average RPMs & overall runtime of your motor)

The oil you put in the engine has a surface adhesion to metals (a film) which lets the those pieces glide across each other virtually untouched. Early in the life of an engine, the ring-to-cylinder-wall shaping is not exactly perfect. There is a good bit of gap in there which allows some blowby and a less than optimal cylinder compression. By loading the motor (variously and at times, vigorously) you cause the rings to (for lack of a better term) errode themselves a tad until they conform to each other.

If you baby an engine too much when young, the rings will only shape themselves into the cylinder so much and then take a set (has to do with modern cylinder honing methods and the short duration of metal-to-metal friction that affords)... then you'll have a less than perfect seal at some points.

Remember... during the VAST MAJORITY of your engine's operations there is little to no wear on the metal surfaces... the oil has them gliding past.

After some initial wear during a more vigorous break-in, the engine INCREASES its work output.

The REAL MYTH is all about the slow and gentle method. That stopped being at all necessary in most factory engines DECADES AGO. Factory engines today are VASTLY less sensitive to early jaunts into the higher revs... to the point of being NO PROBLEM.

All you really need to do to protect your young factory motor is to let it warm up good before a good romp so the oil can adequately coat the parts... then "break it in" by driving it the way it was designed to be driven.

good post, I tend to agree after reading several sites, some from people that have actually opened the motor up after a hard break in and shown pictures. The one I remember most was the motorcycle guy that showed the difference between pistons, it really was quite drastic. The one that had been driven hard looked brand new.

 

[00grnsixer]

This one is Charcoal Gray with Dark Charcoal leather. I'm thinking about picking out a different one though that has the Interior Upgrade package. I have an Arthritic condition that the headrests in the upgraded ones are MUCH MUCH better. Unfortunately, it isn't a DIO.

As for the homemade Ram Air question, I guess I didn't seperate my statement effectively enough. I was stating that I wanted some form of Ram Air, and was listing 3 options. That was actually for a 2000 V6 I used to have and ended up selling to buy a Focus. Babies will do that to you

Anyway, now I'm in a predicament where my screen name won't match my car. Wonder if I can change my screen name without losing my posts, etc...

 

[daver01]

post a pic of whatever u get. makes sense. i just couldn't imagine why u would do that to a brand new one. i think a mod can do it for u. just pm one of em.